Page 6 of Obsessively Yours (Fae Kings of Eden #2)

6

FIFTEEN YEARS OLD

Violet screamed and scrambled up the nearest tree, breathing hard as she stared at the tigon below. She’d glamoured herself to be invisible, but the beast seemed to see her anyway. Animals shouldn’t be able to see her.

Could fae lose their magic? Have I upset the gods and they’ve decided to feed me to the wild?

Tigons were large cats the size of a small horse. Black stripes lined their snow-white fur, and a large mane of pitch-black quill sheaths covered their head and neck. When a tigon felt threatened, sharp quills shot out of their skin into the sheaths, forming a razor-sharp barrier to protect their throat.

She’d seen sketches and paintings before, but neither did their bright orange eyes justice.

Tigons were larger and more dangerous than the jungle cats in the Human Kingdom, as were all animals in the fae lands, but they tended to dwell in the lesser populated areas of the dense jungle.

Apparently not this one.

Violet grasped a bright purple vine to steady herself and looked up to see if she could swing to the next tree. The branches didn’t line up, and to reach another, she’d have to either climb higher or slide lower.

“Please go away,” she pleaded with the animal who seemed determined to wait her out. Did tigons eat people? Violet didn’t know, but judging by the look in the tigon’s eye, she would find out the hard way.

The sound of someone approaching caught her attention, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Help!” The footsteps sped up, and she added, “Be careful. There’s a tigon.”

They ran faster, and when Roman materialized at the base of the tree, Violet’s shoulders sagged. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. “Maybe your glamour will work on him,” she said shakily. “Either mine isn’t working or he can smell my fear.”

Roman looked from the tigon to Violet and suppressed a smile.

“If you’re going to laugh at me, then leave,” she snapped.

Roman’s lip trembled, and he lost the battle, doubling over in a fit of laughter. Maybe she could convince the tigon to eat him instead.

“He’s my familiar, princess. He won’t hurt you,” the prince informed her once he’d regained control of himself.

Her attention involuntarily moved to Roman’s chest. He wore a lightweight, white, long-sleeved shirt tucked into dark green trousers. The top buttons of his shirt were open, and she could see the black lines of his familiar mark.

Royal fae bonded with a familiar on their fifteenth birthday, and when the bond formed, the royal fae received a mark on their chest of the animal, like a tattoo. “Show me your mark.”

He unbuttoned his shirt and proudly displayed an artistic version of a tigon. Lips parting with awe, she leaned forward a little to see it better. “It looks cool.” Roman beamed with pride. Violet held onto the vine in her hand and jumped down. “What’s your familiar’s name?”

Roman jolted forward and caught her around the waist before she hit the ground. “I hate it when you do that,” he grumbled. “I haven’t named him yet.”

“Why not?” she asked, staring at the tigon.

“He hates everything I suggest,” Roman complained. “I told him to name himself, but he refuses.”

Violet tentatively reached over and scratched the tigon’s head. His mane slid through her fingers like silk. “How do you know he doesn’t like the names? Does he bite you or something?”

Roman shook his head with a half-cocked grin. “He tells me.” Her eyebrows shot to her hairline, and he added, “I can sense his thoughts.” Huh . She hadn’t known they could communicate that way.

Violet stared at the beast again. “His mane is glorious. You could call him Samyaza,” she suggested, referencing a fictional angel warrior in an old faerietale. The tigon nudged Violet’s hand and licked her fingers. “I think he likes it.”

Roman took a step closer and observed the two, all humor dropping from his face. “Over my dead body.”

Violet leaned over and cooed into the beast’s fur, “That can be arranged, can’t it?”

The tigon purred, earning a scowl from Roman. “Don’t be childish.”

Violet straightened and stared him down. “What twisted your undershorts?” Roman didn’t look amused, and she knew him well enough to know something else bothered him. “Is everything alright?” His eyes flitted to hers, confirming her suspicions. “You can tell me. I’m a good listener and even better at revenge.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

The boyish smile she knew well made an appearance, but it didn’t last long. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. “I didn’t sleep last night, and I took it out on you.” She waited expectantly, and he cleared his throat. “Apparently, I can feel when Vivian has an, uh, orgasm.”

Roman’s face turned beet red, and Violet wished she’d never asked. As a matter of fact, she wished the tigon had eaten her when he’d had the chance. “I didn’t know you two were having sex yet. Not that I need to know,” she added.

Fifteen seemed a bit young, in her opinion, but plenty of her classmates were already doing it. If it was what they wanted and they were safe about it, that was their business.

Roman stiffened. “Gods, Vi, we’re not having sex with each other. I can feel her with someone else.” He paused and added, “Unless she’s doing it herself, but there are other emotions when it happens that I don’t think she’d feel on her own.”

She remembered months ago when she’d overheard Viv and another boy. What did you say to someone who found out their mate cheated on them? “I’m sorry, Rome.”

He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t care if she does.”

Well, I guess they aren’t together after all.

Dropping his hand, Roman shrugged. “It feels great, actually.” He chuckled when Violet’s jaw fell open, “but I don’t want to feel her .” His emphasis on the last word struck Violet as a bit odd, but she brushed it aside.

“Are you two friends?” she asked. The prince and her sister got along well enough at their weekly dinners, but Violet rarely saw them speak otherwise.

A guilty look passed over his face. “Kind of.”

“ Kind of?” she parroted, planting her hands on her hips. “That means no. No wonder you two don’t want to be together.” She should have kept the last bit to herself, but it didn’t take a genius to see they didn’t like each other in that way. They couldn’t act on it in public if they did, but even at their weekly dinners they were cordial. Nothing more.

“That’s your problem,” she continued. “How do you expect to love each other if you’re not friends first? Mom says the best friendships turn into the greatest loves.”

His gaze bored into hers. “Meri is a smart woman.”

“You both like doing sword stuff,” Violet pointed out. “Maybe you could practice sword stuff together or punch each other.”

Playful mischief laced his expression. “Sword stuff?”

“You know what I mean,” she muttered.

Roman tilted his head with feigned interest. “I don’t think I do.” He leaned casually against the wide, blue, iridescent trunk of the tree. “Explain it to me.”

Matching his stance, she smiled sweetly. “If you’ll let me borrow your sword, I’ll run it through your middle as a demonstration.” She glanced at the short sword strapped to his hip.

His mouth curled with amusement. “The princess has claws.”

If she had claws, she’d scratch his eyes out just to wipe that smug look off his face. No, you wouldn’t. You like it too much, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.

Violet bent down to gather her satchel and studiously ignored his teasing. She tried to straighten and nearly head-butted the giant tigon who’d moved closer. The big cat licked her cheek, and she swiped at it with a mock glare in its direction. “You need to name him so I can scold him properly for sneaking up on me.”

Roman rolled his lips together and looked away. He hid his smiles a lot, but she didn’t know why. Some were annoying, but most made him even more handsome. “He’s been sitting there the entire time,” Roman said, his amusement clear. “I wouldn’t call that sneaking up on you .”

Violet looked the tigon over. “He looks ferocious enough to win a battle on his own, and clearly he has the stealth.” She turned back to Roman. “You should name him War.”

The cat purred. Roman stared at his familiar and his shoulders loosened. “Thank the gods. He likes it.”

Violet clapped excitedly and leaned over to kiss the top of War’s head, whispering, “Don’t let him get too big of a head when he’s king.” The beast tried to lick her again, but she jumped back. War’s tongue caught Violet’s necklace instead, and she yelped, snatching the string to keep it from breaking.

Roman glanced at the jewelry clutched in her hand. “Did you make that?”

“Yes.” She fiddled with the shells. “I think I look quite pretty with it on.” Flipping her hair dramatically, she popped a hip and struck a pose.

An unreadable emotion shone in Roman’s eyes, and his voice softened. “You’re pretty without it. You don’t need that stuff.”

Violet did everything in her power to ignore the fact that he’d called her pretty and adjusted her satchel. “I never said I was ugly without it.”

Roman stiffened, and she turned to War. “Remember what I told you.” The beast nodded his head, and Violet turned back to Roman. Hopefully putting space between them would squash the furious fluttering in her stomach. “Be friends with my sister or you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life.”

Violet hurried off before she did something stupid, like tell him she thought he was handsome too.

* * *

“I like her,” War told Roman as they trekked toward the palace. “Are you two close?”

Roman didn’t respond at first. They were close, but the older they got, the more he wished they were mates with a ferocity unlike any other. “I like her, but I’m mated to her sister.”

“Do you like her as more than a friend?”

“Yes,” Roman answered without hesitation. He stopped abruptly when something occurred to him. It was a stupid thought, he knew that, but he needed to ask for peace of mind. The gods blessed familiars ; maybe they knew things the fae didn’t.

“Do you know a way to transfer a mate bond from one person to another? I know the bond can break if Vivian or I marry another, but is there a way to form a bond with someone else?”

“That is a fool’s wish,” War replied after a moment. “The bond can break, but only the gods can grant a new one.”

Marrying Violet would break his bond with Vivian, but he didn’t know if it would form a new bond because it’d never been done.

“If I married Violet and broke the bond with Vivian, it would force the gods to bond me to Violet, right?” His excitement grew the more he thought about it. It made sense. The royal bloodline must stay strong, and they’d have no choice but to bond them together.

War chuffed. “You cannot force the gods to do anything. I like Violet, but do not play with fate. It will not end well.”

Only silence followed, and a darkness blanketed Roman as his familiar’s words settled in his soul.